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AZCentral: Peoria photo-enforcement cameras stopped operating Monday morning following a decision last month to end the program. The city decided not to renew its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that operates the cameras, after learning that crashes at monitored intersections actually increased during the three-year pilot program.
California Watch: “While the state collects millions of dollars from red-light cameras at intersections, a few California cities are starting to question whether the safety benefits are worth the high cost to their own coffers. . . . Other cities have rejected automatic ticketing programs as well, including Union City near San Jose, [...] Arizona Republic: “A Tempe man is suing to get rid of the city’s photo enforcement system, saying it commits fraud by issuing tickets to people who weren’t really speeding. Daniel Arthur Gutenkauf, 59, of Tempe said the system couldn’t differentiate between him and his identical twin brother, but sent him a citation anyway.” [...] thenewspaper.com: “A motorist is using federal anti-racketeering statutes to go after the red light camera and speed camera program in Tempe, Arizona. Dan Gutenkauf filed his complaint last week in the US District Court for the District of Arizona. . . . The suit names Redflex employees, police officials, politicians and judges as [...] Findlaw: “The LA Times now reports that the intersection cameras may be put to work for more than just red light violations. . . . Other violations include: talking on a cellphone, not wearing a seat belt, not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, reckless driving, and expired registration.” Arizona Republic: “Two former Paradise Valley officials have launched a political-action committee in support of photo enforcement, saying the cameras have made the town’s streets safer.” Arizona Republic: “The Paradise Valley Town Council will hear a presentation Thursday night on the fiscal and safety impact of traffic cameras in the community. Paradise Valley is the target of a petition drive asking for a public vote to ban the cameras.” Arizona Republic: “A citizens group behind a failed statewide initiative drive to ban photo enforcement is now focusing its efforts on the 14 Arizona cities and towns that use the traffic cameras.” In People v. Khaled the Appellate Division of the Orange County Superior Court ruled on July 22, 2010, that red-light camera photos were hearsay and not admissible as evidence to prove the defendant ran a red light. Arizona Republic: “Speed cameras on freeways across Arizona went dark just before midnight last night [July 15, 2010], ending the state’s controversial experiment with photo enforcement.” Arizona Republic: “Arizona ends its groundbreaking speed enforcement program Thursday with the expiration of a company’s two-year contract that put dozens of cameras along Phoenix-area freeways and other highways across the state. Panned by critics as intended more as a way to generate revenue than improve safety, the contract that the Department of [...] Knoxnews: “U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. thinks he knows why cash-strapped communities around the country are installing red-light traffic cameras, and it has nothing to do with making streets and highways safer. It’s about making money, he said. . . . ‘If it’s not, then let everybody who is fined contribute to [...] Arizona Republic: “Even as the Arizona Department of Public Safety was preparing to shut down the statewide photo speed-enforcement system, a top commander was lobbying legislators to approve a photo-enforcement bill giving DPS full control of the program, raising questions about the department’s intentions.” Arizona Republic on Scottsdale’s speed cameras: “The speed-enforcement cameras may be leaving Arizona freeways soon, but don’t expect them to disappear from Scottsdale streets. Scottsdale’s photo-enforcement program, which is run by the city police department, has been successful in getting drivers to slow down and drive safer, said Bill Moloney, program manager.”
Palm Beach Post: “Rear-end collisions more than doubled and accidents increased overall in the first 70 days of red-light cameras in West Palm Beach compared to the same period of 2009, traffic records reviewed by The Palm Beach Post show.” Arizona Republic: “As state leaders slammed the brakes on Arizona’s freeway photo speed-enforcement program, Phoenix police said they continue to see the safety benefits of photo radar and red-light cameras.” Arizona Republic: “Although Arizona drivers can be certain the cameras will shut off after July 15, questions remain about what led to the demise of the program, whether it can return and how motorists should treat citations issued over the next two months.” Arizona Republic: “Arizona’s controversial experiment with speed-enforcement cameras on state freeways will come to an end this summer, when the Department of Public Safety allows the program to expire.” St. Petersburg Times: “An academic spat among University of South Florida researchers is muddying the debate about the growing use of red light cameras at Tampa Bay area intersections. USF’s College of Public Health concluded that instead of improving safety, the cameras actually make intersections more dangerous.” Surprise, Arizona, ends its test period on its new photo radar speed enforcement revenue generating system. Effective April 26, 2010, the system will go live and start ticketing speeders who exceed the speed limit by more than 11 miles per hour or more. Mesa, Arizona, installed thirteen speed cameras and three red-light cameras in 1996. After three years the program was $10,000 in the red. Being a governmental agency, Mesa did not let a small thing like losing money stop it from expanding the program so that taxpayers could lose more money. Mesa had net losses [...] Arizona Republic: “Photo-enforcement cameras have snapped employees driving Maricopa County vehicles more than 1,500 times over the last two years as they exceeded speed limits and run red lights. A Republic review of thousands of documents obtained through a public-records request found that sheriff’s deputies overwhelmingly received most of the tickets, usually when [...] Arizona Republic: “Carrying signs that read ‘Will Flash for Cash’ and ‘Cops Not Cameras,’ several dozen people rallied this afternoon [February 6, 2010] to protest photo enforcement methods. Leaders of Arizona Citizens Against Photo Radar, an organization that is gathering signatures for a ballot initiative to ban use of such traffic monitoring devices, [...] Arizona Republic: “The Department of Public Safety’s newly appointed director this week joined a growing chorus of powerful voices speaking out against the state’s photo-enforcement system. In interviews this week, Robert Halliday said that the system should be restructured if it’s not scrapped. Halliday, whose appointment must be confirmed by lawmakers, said he [...] Arizona Republic: “Photo-enforcement cameras may not last through the summer on Arizona’s highways, given recent activity at the state Capitol to shut down the program. Pressure is growing among state politicians to scrap the network of freeway boxes that snap photos of speeding motorists, and a few lawmakers have introduced bills that would [...] Phoenix Business Journal: “A state audit of photo radar tickets released Tuesday found the program brought in $37 million in its first year, short of former Gov. Janet Napolitano’s estimate of $90 million a year.” USA Today: “Red-light cameras that have been gaining a foothold in many states face a growing public backlash and outright removal. The cameras, billed as safety devices since their introduction in the USA nearly 20 years ago, are increasingly viewed by many motorists as unreasoning revenue generators for hard-up local governments.” A man associated with Redflex, the company that operates Phoenix area speed cameras, filed a petition with the Arizona Supreme Court on January 8, 2010, asking the court to change the method used to serve speed camera tickets on people. The goal of the petition is to make service of tickets easier so [...] Arizona Republic: “A Chandler man suspected of standing through his open sunroof while speeding on Valley freeways has turned himself in. Arizona Department of Public Safety officers arrested 25-year-old Richard Anthony Flores on suspicion of reckless driving and criminal speed, DPS reported.” Arizona Republic: “Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was lauded by many opponents of photo-enforcement in February when he announced that he would not prosecute criminal speeders caught by the new technology. But six weeks later, Keith Manning, Thomas’ law-enforcement liaison, issued a memo to the Arizona Department of Public Safety detailing what steps [...] |
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